Philiomath
by NyxBlade
Summary: Just because the show ended, it doesn’t mean the story is over. An end is simply the beginning of something else... Maybe it will include Billdip... I haven’t decided.
1. Afterwards

**_A/n: I was rewatching Gravity Falls when inspiration struck... And then I lost said inspiration on an unrelated tangent on how rewatching older cartoons made me feel old. But then the inspiration returned, and I made this fic. This chapter will be in 3rd person while the rest will in the perspectives of different characters. I hope you enjoy._**

**_Obligatory Disclaimer: I am not Alex Hirsch, and thus I do not own Gravity Falls._**

Dipper and Mabel had left Gravity Falls, a place of magic and mystery, for the stable Californian suburb they originally resided. Both twins were sad about losing what they had gained in that little town; Mabel missed her newfound friends and her grunkles while Dipper missed his crush, Wendy, and the daily brushes with the supernatural. Their parents claimed the twins would feel better eventually, and they were right, to some extent. Mabel still missed her friends back in Gravity Falls, but she realized that she could always call them and would visit them next summer, so Mabel felt better.

But Dipper... Dipper was a different story.

Sure, he realized that he would see Wendy again, but there was still the gnawing feeling that something was missing. Something important.

Could the missing piece be his grunkle Stan, the old conman who made a living leeching off tourists? No. While he grew close to Stan, he could never fully shake off the insults about how he wasn't manly enough, or tall enough, or tough enough. Even though he knew the man was joking, the words still stung like paper cuts, and the doubt and insecurities in his never let those small wounds ever fully heal. Every now and again, he'd look in the mirror and wonder "_Is_ _Stan was right about me?" _

If not Grunkle Stan, could it be Grunkle Ford, an ultra cool genius previously trapped in another dimension? Someone who shared interest in nerdier things like DDD? No, that wasn't right either; he always felt so inadequate around Grunkle Ford. It was painful like Grunkle Stan's insults, but in a different way. And, it was also hard to complain about without sounding completely ridiculous considering the man obviously wasn't doing it intentionally. He couldn't say he was the intellectual in the family anymore because Grunkle Ford was so much smarter than him. No, it wasn't Grunkle Ford he missed so much, but he truly missed the adventures they had together.

Adventures... That was it! He missed the adventure of Gravity Falls, the thrill of learning about magical creatures and discovering hidden secrets. There was nothing like that back in California.

Well, maybe he couldn't have adventures in the stifling safety of his hometown, but he could still learn things there. He could learn Latin; all important magical things were written in Latin, weren't they? It'd be a useful skill once he got back to Gravity Falls. Latin was a common and innocent enough subject that he could get books on the matter in the local library. He could totally teach himself Latin; after all the feats he accomplished in Gravity Falls, Latin would be easy. Besides, his parents always told him he needed a hobby other than his "obsession" with things that "weren't real." Ancient and extinct languages were real, along with the supernatural but explaining that to his parents would be a losing battle, so his parents would be okay with it.

Granted, the Latin thing was related to the supernatural thing, but his parents didn't need to know that.

A little over a week after the twins' return from that quaint Oregon town, school began. Mabel began to fully embrace her middle school experience, using her newfound self-confidence to make more friends than she ever had before; her acedemics were nothing to write home about, managing Cs with the occasional B mixed in, but she tried hard in each of her classes. Dipper, on the other hand, stayed to himself; he was rather introverted and never had the best social skills, and quite frankly, all the other children his age thought he was rather odd, even before his fateful trip to Gravity Falls, sometimes bullying him because of it. However, Dipper excelled at academics, bringing home straight As. Rather than make friends or socialize in his free time during school, he would work on his Latin. Consequently, rumors spread about him, and the other students started to avoid him like the plague.

Whenever Dipper went to talk to his sister, he would see her surrounded by friends, happy and laughing, but when he approached, all Mabel's friends would slowly start to leave, making all sorts of phony excuses. Mabel was always so sullen when that happened; it made him feel so guilty and crestfallen seeing his cheerful sister like that, so he began to avoid her during school.

He was so alone, but it was worth it, seeing his sister so happy. At least he still had his books.

Their parents were very supportive, except when anything related to the supernatural popped up in conversation. When the twins just came back home, their parents had asked what happened and if they had fun, the generic parental inquiries for these sorts of circumstances. Dipper knew it wasn't a good idea to tell their parents the truth, especially not about the gnomes, Gideon, and the Weirdmageddon.

Mabel, though... She was, at heart, an honest girl and didn't want to lie to her parents of all people. She told the truth, every single story, no matter how menial or how magical. Their mother responded with an ever classic "I'm glad you had fun, sweetie, but it's wrong to tell lies." Their father have a patronizing smile in the background.

"But, Mom, I'm not lying! Dipper, back me up on this!"

"Dipper, I expected better of you than to fill your sister's head with nonsensical fairytales," their mother chastised, frowning. "Well now, you're home, so get that rubbish out of your heads, the both of you. And welcome home. We missed you two." Their parents pulled them in for a group hug. Mabel hugged back, condescending dismissal entirely forgotten.

All Dipper could do was stand there and accept the hug, thinking about how wrong his parents were, and grew resentful about how not even their parents would take them seriously when they had become respected in Gravity Falls after Weirdmageddon. They weren't naive children, not anymore, and it hurt him that his parents couldn't see it.

Dipper no longer wanted to talk to his parents who would dismiss him so quickly. As such, his parents grew much closer to Mabel than to Dipper, who shut them out. Dipper began to throw himself further into his Latin.

By October, Mabel had made decades of new friends, had the love and support of her parents, and had found her niche back home. Dipper had gotten a fairly good grasp on Latin and started to branch out to Ancient Greek; he had no friends, and his relationship with his parents was as weak as a thin, frayed string. He still felt like there was a piece of him missing, a piece he left back in Gravity Falls.

Unbeknownst to the twins, back in Gravity Falls, a poor, foolish tourist- a middle aged potbellied man with a receding hairline who thought traveling through Oregon with his slutty wife and his two bratty kids would be a good way for his family to reconnect and is deeply regretting it- got lost in the woods next to a tourist trap, the Mystery Shack. The man just wanted to take a quick piss after drinking too much water just to avoid talking to his wife. He hadn't wanted to be seen, eager to avoid an indecent exposure charge. He must have wandered too far in because he couldn't seem to find his way back out. There weren't any signs to guide him back to civilization or any people to ask for directions. He just had to try his luck, walk back the way he thought he came from, and hope for the best.

When the forest began to grow dark, the man assumed he had simply been lost for far longer than he had thought. He didn't suspect that something far worse than being lost was responsible.

When all light had been chased away by the darkness, in the deepest part of the woods, the man came across a clearing. He had hoped this clearing would be the end of the woods; he was, however, sorely disappointed. Instead of an exit, he found a particularly strange stone statue. It looked like the Illuminati symbol his son showed him the other day decided to wear a top hat and grow arms. One of said arms was extended, as if offering to shake hands.

He was surprised it wasn't exhibited at the Mystery Shack but figured that was because the owner hadn't found the statue yet. He wondered how much he could sell the statue for.

Since he didn't intend to lug the statue through the woods until he got back, however long that would take, and nobody would believe him without proof, he wanted to take a photo of the statue. Luckily, his phone still had some juice left from that morning. That, and it would make a good souvenir. Better than that junk at the Mystery Shack, at any rate. He still couldn't believe his stupid wife insisted on buying those ridiculously overpriced knickknacks with his money. God, he hated marriage.

He figured he might as well take a photo of him shaking the statue's hand because why not? It would be cool.

He took the stone hand into his flesh counterpart and for- what was it those kids called it?- a selfie.

_Would you like to make a deal with me? _

A voice, high pitched and sickly sweet, resonated inside his head.

"What!? Who are you? Where are you!?"

_Why, I'm the guy whose hand you're shaking. The name's Bill Cipher. Nice to meet you._

"What? How on earth is a stone statue-"

_Talking? Really? All you meat bags have the same boring questions. "How" doesn't matter. All you need to know is that I can give you whatever you want. For example, I can give you gold, riches, power, knowledge, even an escape from your wife and kids._

"Really? You can free from that bitch?"

_Yep. All I ask in return for your freedom is a teensy-weensy favor from you. Nothing too difficult on your part. A good deal, no?_

"Alright, but what do I have to do?"

_Just stay still, holding my hand. _

_"_Like this?"

_That's the ticket. Now, this'll be over quickly._

The tourist screamed, but this deep in the forest, no one could hear him. No one except the triangular demon, laughing where a statue once lay.

He grinned manically.

"Now, how will I make the Pines pay?"


	2. Lost

**_A/n: This is going to be from Dipper's point of view. I hope you enjoy._**

**_Trigger warning: a character gets bullied and beaten. If any of these bother you, tread with caution._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own this series, so please don't sue me; I'm too broke for a lawsuit. _**

It's only the first week of November, and I already want the school year to be over. Normally, I usually get to March or April before becoming eager about the end of school. Shows how much I want it to be summer, I guess. I want to go back to Gravity Falls so badly; that's where I belong. The Dipper there was happy. The Dipper there had adventures and thrills. The Dipper there met all sorts of different creatures, learned all sorts of secrets. The Dipper there belonged and had people he could talk to without being judged as wrong or delusional.

The Dipper here was none of those things. The Dipper here lives a dull, ordinary life. The Dipper here only meets humans that deny the existence of any other sentient life forms. The Dipper here is called a freak in the halls, an unwanted and disliked entity.

The Dipper here is pushed around and insulted. The Dipper here only has his sister to talk to, and even then he can only talk to her in their home, where her friends won't flee at the sight of him. The Dipper here can't speak his mind in front of any parental figures without censorship, disbelief, or scorn. The Dipper here is miserable.

I drag my feet to my last class of the day: gym. It's my least favorite class, being that it's the thing I'm horrible at. Mabel was the more athletic twin; it didn't make her the alpha twin, though; I smile at the memory of when we were back at the shack and Mabel kept bragging about how she was exactly one millimeter taller than him. It seemed like such a big deal to me at that time; I guess I didn't like to think that I wasn't good enough. And then I made that shrinking flashlight just so we could be the same height again. That stupid flashlight I made nearly doomed us all.

I quickly grab my gym clothes and dash into the showers, hoping to change in private. The last time I changed in public with all the other guys, they used it as an excuse to mock me. "Scrawny, ugly little freak," they said. "All skin and bones. You're practically a skeleton. No wonder no one wants to be around you; you're not just a freak, you're a freak of nature." And then they laughed at me. They just kept laughing at me with more and more of them joining in like how a wildfire gets bigger and bigger if there's no one around to stop it, and I just wanted the ground to swallow me up. And they do it every day. Every. Single. Day. It was even worse than the embarrassment of not being able to win the pancakes in that manliness game. At least then the people weren't so malicious. Even the Manotaurs weren't this bad.

As I take off my shirt, I hear the locker room doors open, and I hear them laughing. I hurry up. I don't want them to catch me while I'm changing. They'd be even meaner then, because if I learned anything from Gravity Falls, it was that a predator gets angry when things don't go according to plan. While middle school bullies aren't on the same level as homicidal dream demons, both feed on the fears and insecurities of others.

That's right! I can't believe I've forgotten! I fought Bill! Or, at least, I faced Bill. Bullies aren't as bad as Bill. If I can face Bill, I can face some bullies.

But Bill never brought up my pathetic noodle arms and lack of muscles. Bill never made fun of me for how I look or how my sister is more "manly" than me. I know I shouldn't try to change who I am because of what random strangers think, but having it rubbed in my face every day on how everybody hates the way I am picks at an old wound that's still healing.

Breathe in, breathe out. They can only hurt you if you let them, Dipper. And hey, if you stop reacting to them, maybe they'll leave you alone.

I just got to get my shorts on first.

Miraculously, I get to the gym without getting spotted by the bullies. I work my way to the corner of the gym where the teacher can't see me so well, tucked in behind the bleachers. The teacher hasn't called for attendance yet since most people aren't done changing, so it shouldn't be any problem. I go over some Latin verb conjugations in my head, quick exercises that are surprisingly effective. Can't let myself get too rusty. It's always good to practice.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mabel exit the girls' locker room; gym is the only class we have in common, so it's the only time I see her except for lunch. She's flanked by two of her new friends: a tall, muscular girl and a short, nerdy girl. I wonder idly if Grenda and Candy are aware they've been replaced. Not that Mabel would do that on purpose. She wouldn't! She couldn't. But, that's sort of what it looks like. Maybe it's just Mabel's subconscious yearning for her old friends. Yeah, that has to be it. Mabel would never abandon people close to her. Never.

The teacher's whistle tweets, and everyone goes to stand around the teacher until their name was called; the gym teacher, whose name I forget, was almost as much of a stickler for rules as Mr. Poolcheck, so he had to see someone to mark them present. He called out my name, looked at me disdainfully, and crossed me off before swiftly moving on to someone else.

"Listen up, Ladies!" The teacher bellows. "Today, you're gonna have free choice. You can play football, soccer, or..." He looks down at the clipboard the way a normal person would look down at their shoe once they've stepped in dog feces. "...Walking," he sneers.

I head over to walk, obviously, and I feel the gym teacher glare at me like he's trying to manifest heat vision and laser me to death. I notice that barely any of the other boys choose walking: three of the lazier students and the guy who broke his hand. All the rest were girls, and even then there were only six of those. Mabel and her friends went off to play soccer, so we wouldn't be able to talk. In my peripheral vision, I see the leader of the bullies spot me out of us eleven walkers. Of course that jock would pick football; how much more stereotypical can you get?

I walk around at a decent pace while continuing to practice Latin in my head; it's a good distraction from the burning glare that gym teacher is giving me.

When I get back to the locker room, the bullies are lying in wait around my locker. No escape from this one. I just have to remember: Bill is tougher than bullies.

"Hey, Freak!" Give him no reaction. Don't let him win. Breathe. "Coach is pissed at you, you know, and I don't blame him. You're a disgrace, picking walking. No wonder you're a skeleton; you're as weak as a baby." If you dissect his words, it's kind of pathetic really; he must be running out of material with his insults; he's like a parrot, repeating the same thing over and over again. It's sad I was so bothered by this.

"Are you listening to me? What a rude little bitch. It's about time someone taught you some manners, huh?"

He punched me, suddenly, right in the Solar Plexus. Me from a year ago would be crying now, but compared to what I've been hit by in Gravity Falls, his punch feels like nothing. I go to open my locker. "Hey, you fucker, are you still ignoring me!?" He kicks me in the back of my knee, and I stubble to the ground. I instinctively go into armadillo formation, curling up to protect my face and most of my internal organs. The rest of his friends join in now, all kicking me. Compared to being beat up by Rumble McSkirmish, this was nothing. I can't believe I was so afraid of this.

Mid-beating, I see the gym teacher enter from the gym, most likely heading to his office. The bullies stop, comically scared faces on all of them. The teacher gives an approving smile and nods before heading along.

Figures. That teacher hated me since day one. I didn't expect anything else, honestly.

The bullies kicked harder then, not afraid of being caught and punished. At this point, their kicks will leave bruises, but I don't really care. Bruises fade, and there's no one to see them in the meanwhile. Honestly, compared to that time when Bill possessed me and cracked at least a few of my ribs by falling down the stairs, this was like being hit with pillows. I feared these bullies and cowered from them when I went face to face with Bill? I could laugh at how ridiculous I was. In fact, why not laugh? My reputation's already at rock bottom; at least, if they think I'm crazy, they'll leave me alone.

And so I laugh. And laugh. And laugh. Just like they laughed at me. They slowly stopped, probably out of surprise because who could have predicted getting laughter in response to getting beat up? Once they backed off enough, I got up and adopted a blank expression before opening my locker. I ignored them as I changed, taking note of the red marks that would most certainly bruise. I left without another word. I got the feeling they wouldn't be bothering me anytime soon.

Who would have thought all the misery Bill put me through would eventually be helpful one day?

I go to collect my bag from my normal locker and return to home room for dismissal. I take my designated seat in the back and start reading my book, a novel in Latin so that I could simultaneously entertain myself and brush up on my skills; it was such a lucky find in some local, pre-owned bookstore, and it only cost three weeks of allowance too.

I notice out of the corner of my eye someone is gossiping, amassing quite a ground. From the pointed looks and whispers, I know they're talking about me. Nothing new on that front, I suppose. I think I recognize one of the gossipers from my gym class; they must be talking about today's incident. Oh well, maybe they'll spread a rumor all around the school saying I'm crazy or unstable, and the rest of the bullies will leave me alone as well.

The final bell rings for the day, and most of the students run for the buses as fast as they can. Since Mabel and I walk to school, being late isn't a concern for me. I head for the school library; it's my favorite time to be there, when everyone else has already left leaving true peace and quiet. The old librarian is distracted by retrieving her things to go home, so she doesn't see me sneak in to the older, more abandoned part of the library.

For a public school, my school had a very big library; it seemed to be school policy since the day it was founded to never throw anything away, even old Latin textbooks from when the school used to teach high schoolers as well. The books are still usable; it's not like the language changed any since a few decades ago.

I took an hour learning before I thought it best to return home. When my mom asks where I've been, I can say I was at the library studying; it wouldn't even be a lie. Though, "_if_ my mom asks" would be more appropriate. This wasn't the first time I've stayed so late in the library; I've spent nearly an hour everyday. My parents have stopped asking about my whereabouts; however, they still punish me for it. So far, I've lost all of my video games indefinitely and I've been grounded for the next month, not to leave my room accept for meals, since I have a bathroom attached to my room. They haven't even noticed that I don't care about that stuff anymore. What good are fantasy video games when you've seen the real deal? And why would I want to leave my room? I has books, a bed, and a bathroom. What more do I need? This clearly wasn't as good a punishment as they thought it would be.

As I walk home, I see something shining out of the corner of my eye in one of the side streets. Not shining like a piece of metal caught in the sunlight, but a more... familiar yellow glow. I turn my head, just a little bit curious.

Bill?


	3. Sister

**_A/n: Welcome back to chapter three. This one is from Mabel's perspective. Features a liberal amount of OCs. I regret nothing. Please review and enjoy._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls, and I never will. Unless I make a deal with Bill..._**

School was going great! I made lots of new friends; my parents would be so proud of me. Classes are boring, as expected, but I have friends in all my classes, so it's not so bad. There's even going to be a Homecoming dance next week, on November 12. I'm going with my new friend Jackson, and maybe we'll become more than just friends. Everything's turning up Mabel!

But Dipper... I'm worried about Dipper.

I never get to talk to him anymore. He never hangs out with me at school, and at home, Mom and Dad won't let me talk to him since he's "grounded" for coming home late all the time. What is he even doing after school!?

And I hear rumors about him all the time at school. Crazy rumors! Ranging from him being selectively mute, demonically possessed, doing drugs, cutting himself, burning small animals, and even being a ghost. None of my friends are comfortable around him anymore. It stinks because none of those things are true, but people still believe them.

But, since two days ago, the rumors all say Dipper's crazy! That he's some sort of unnatural monster! That he did something freaky in gym class that spooked everyone.

I'm so worried about him. I just need to talk to him, but he's been avoiding me. I'll have to just ambush him in homeroom. Surprise attack! Wachow!! Operation Talk to Dippin' Dots is a go!

...His homeroom is Ms. Enixson's class, right? Yeah, that's what he said back when he still talked to me. That's on the third floor. I have fifteen minutes until class starts. Go, go, go!

This is perfect! The target is alone, reading some dumb book. Great opportunity to talk to him.

Wait a minute! Some blonde guy I don't know is heading to talk to the target. Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Did Dipper make a friend and didn't tell me about it!? Must gather information! My new friend Ally is in this class, isn't she? Ah, right near the door, perfect for gathering intelligence without alerting the target.

"Hey, Ally!"

"Wassup, Mabel?"

"I just need to talk to Dipper about something, but who's that blonde guy next to him?"

"Oh, that guy? He's new. A transfer student we got yesterday. He's so dreamy. Shame he only wants to talk to your weird brother."

"You know his name?"

"It's Bill. I call dibs. He's going to be my boyfriend by the end of the year."

"Bill?" Just like that triangular butthole...

"Uh-huh. Isn't he so gorgeous? That bronze skin. That golden eye. His silky hair. I wonder if it's as soft as it looks?"

"Well, I'm gonna go talk to Dipper before the bell rings."

"Good luck with that."

Now to sneak close to the target so he can't escape. Good! He still hasn't noticed me yet.

"Hey, Dipper. We need to talk. Can your new friend leave you alone for just a few seconds?"

"Now, now, Shooting Star, whatever you can say to Dipper, you can say to me."

"Shooting Star?" That nickname... Just like _he _called me...

"Your sweater. It has a shooting star on it."

"Mabel, what are you here for?" That was the first time I heard his voice in a while.

"I'm worried about you, Dipping Dots. I haven't spoke with you for so long, and I've been hearing the strangest things about you."

"I never would have pegged you as the type to believe in rumors, Shooting Star."

"Mabel, I'm fine, okay. Just go to your class already. The bell's about to ring."

"But Dipper, I need to know what happened two days ago; people are going nuts about what you did in gym class."

"What I did!? I didn't do anything!"

"That's not what I heard, Dipper."

"Mabel, I'm telling you! Nothing happened!"

"But I heard-"

"You heard? Are you seriously going to believe random strangers over your own brother? Wow... What a letdown. From what Dipper here told me, I thought you were better than that."

He's not wrong. I feel so ashamed. If anyone should believe Dipper, it should be me, his sister. I look at the clock. 7:24. I'm out of time. I didn't find out what happened. Mission failed. Time to make a strategic retreat.

I run down the halls; if I'm not in my seat by the time the bell rings, Mr. Gordon is going to give me detention for tardiness. That man is more of a wet blanket than Dipper on a bad day. I don't want a detention to ruin my perfect record.

Classroom door spotted. Seat found in front of class. Stay on target. Jump into the seat. The bell rings. She shoots, she scores! And the crowd goes wild! Success!

Mr. Gordon walks in and finds all the students in their seats. No way I'm getting detention now. Ha! He checks off all the names and starts droning on about school safety and how bullying is bad and all that boring teacher stuff. Pfft. Lame.

Now she had to go to math class. Ugh. Math in the morning, the horror! Only someone as nerdy as Dipper could enjoy math. Why oh why did they have to teach it? Well, joke's on them. I'm not going to pay attention. I'm going to think about cool things, like how hot Jackson was when he scored a goal in gym class or how Ally and Clare are the best at manicures. No serious thoughts for me this morning!

...But Dipper's answers today were really weird... Like he was hiding something from me. But we never hide anything from each other... Ever. Why would he even want to hide things from me? Why didn't he tell me he finally made a friend?

... Dipper's friend is really weird. And mean, but not in that overly aggressive bully way, more like a passive-aggressive teenage girl way. And he reminds me so much of Bill; Triangle Bill, that is, not human Bill. Dipper should have seen the resemblance too, right? So, why would he be friends with him? Dipper is way too paranoid to be comfortable around someone who acts so similar to that floating Dorito demon. And Dipper didn't even defend me when human Bill was being mean. Dipper isn't normally like that.

Something strange was going on, but it couldn't be actual Bill. Triangles Bill is long gone; Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford saw to that. There's something weird going on, and I don't know what; Dipper was always better at figuring out the "what."

Worry not, fair citizens! Detective Mabel is on the case! Duck-tective will be proud of me!

Now, to be on alert for suspicious activity...

"Now, Miss Pines, since you're _obviously _paying attention, you'll be able to explain to me what the Pythagorean Theorem is and its uses."

"Umm..." Oh, jaberwalky, oh fiddlesticks, oh- what other old man curses are there? "The Python Oreo Theo-rum is some old guy's way of using math to matchmake?"

The class erupted in laughter. Well, who could be sad about a wrong answer when this was the response?

"Very funny, Miss Pines. The Pythagorean Theorem is used to calculate the sides of right triangles. A squared plus B squared equals C squared. Remember that as it will be on next week's test."

Ugh. More triangles. Just what I need right now.

English, considering we had a substitute teacher, went great. Science was good. We just watched a documentary about the planets; it was soooo boring, but it was easy. Lunch, the best part of the school day, came around very quickly.

And then something weird happened.

Human Bill came from his homeroom table to talk to Johnny Miller from my homeroom; the school had a stupid rule of sitting students by homeroom rather than letting the students sit with their friends. Johnny was training to be on the Piedmont High School football team next year, so he's really buff. Too mean for me to consider dating, but really hot all the same. Johnny's a pretty intimidating guy.

So that's why it's weird that Bill just comes over, whispers some things in Johnny's ear, and doesn't even flinch when Johnny yells "I'm going to fucking murder you, you scrawny piece of shit!" loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear. In fact, the whole time Bill has what Coach Tierno calls a "shit-eating grin" on his face. After Johnny's outburst, Bill just walks back to his seat next to my brother like nothing happened.

Johnny then marches over to Bill and grabs the back of his golden yellow T-shirt. Which everyone figured would happen. Johnny would yell at Bill. Bill would beg for forgiveness, and everything would go back to the way it was.

Except that wasn't what happened.

Bill decked him, right in the kisser, before Johnny even did anything. And Johnny hit the ground. Bill went over and whispered something else in his ear, and Johnny just started straight-out crying. Johnny left the cafeteria, still crying, escorted by on of the lunch monitors to the nurse's office.

This needs some investigation. If Dipper was here by my side, still talking to me like he used to, he would agree. But, this whole thing seems too big to do it alone; I'm only one person, and I can't watch Bill all day no matter what like Dipper can. A girl needs her beauty sleep. This could prove bigger than I thought; some mean stranger pushing Dipper away from me could turn into some supernatural creature with a grudge. It'd be best to have backup; Dipper would agree.

It's time to assemble a team.


	4. Making-a-Monster

**_A/n: Welcome all to the next chapter. This one will be from Bill's perspective, my favorite character. From the last chapter, you can probably tell Mabel isn't on of my favorites; personality wise, she's alright, not my cup of tea, but not that I dislike it. As a sister, she is absolutely horrible to Dipper, constantly demeaning and mocking him, and is clingy to him as well, as evidenced by her breakdown when she finds out Dipper wants to take on an apprenticeship with Ford. Which is why Bill will be roasting her mercilessly this entire chapter. So if you really like Mabel, I suggest you move along._**

**_Contains some Mabel-bashing. And relatively graphic discriptions of violence. Be warned. _**

**_Disclaimer: If I owned Gravity Falls, there would be more Bill. Bill every episode._**

These mortals are so easy to fool. That fat tourist was a piece of cake; almost too easy to be enjoyable, but I'm not going to complain when it brought me back into this reality. I do have unfinished business with a certain meddlesome family. That, and the face of absolute terror when he realized I was just going to kill him. Ha! Hilarious!

Hey, technically, I was just fulfilling the deal. His marriage was when he died; "til death do us part" and all that jazz. Really, the stupid human should be thanking me.

I was just following the familiar trace of the most interesting mind of Pine Tree; a human who was simultaneously smart and curious enough to discover countless intriguing mysteries yet dumb enough to not know when to quit. Resourceful enough to pull salvation out of nowhere, brave enough to stand up to a powerful being such as myself, and stubborn enough to keep going despite all obstacles. It was such a charming and likable mix. Unique.

Shooting Star loved chaos and manipulating people on a whim; both good traits, in my opinion, but she wasn't nearly as intelligent and inquisitive as her brother. As a mind demon, it makes sense for me to judge people based on their minds, and it doesn't take a genius to tell that Shooting Star's mind is lesser than Pine Tree's. If anyone bothered asking, I wouldn't admit that the reason during Weirdmageddon I picked to kill Shooting Star before Pine Tree was because I thought it would be such a shame to let such a talented and interesting mind go to waste so soon.

In fact, I'll probably save Pine Tree for last. Maybe I'll kill the rest of his family in front of him, make him watch as everyone he ever loved died painfully in front of him, utterly powerless as he realizes who he was messing with. I'd bet he'd start crying even before the first Pines member died. What a delightful thought.

Stanley and IQ would die the most painfully. The real question was _how _to do it; there were so many fun ways to torture mortals: fire, electricity, maiming, mutilation, drowning... So many possibilities.

I've decided. Stanley Pines will die strapped to a metal slab as I slowly skin him alive after individually sawing off each and every one of his fingers as his beloved nephew watches, pitifully begging for my mercy.

IQ is a bit more difficult. He didn't give into electrical torture, and killing him wouldn't be nearly as fun if the old man didn't suffer first. If physical pain wouldn't work, emotional pain would be the way to go. Maybe gutting Shooting Star in front of him and strangling him with her intestines whilst she's still alive will get him to show some fear and horror. Pine Tree would adopt such a deliciously disturbed expression then. Make the cutest little cries. It'd be beautiful, a sight to behold in its macabre glory.

And what a coincidence to run into Pine Tree in the middle of the street. Well, alleyway, but same thing. And it was a delightful fact that Pine Tree didn't run from me automatically.

"Bill?" Ah, the confusion. The mortal actually thought I was dead? That would be extremely funny if it weren't also so insulting.

"Are you going to kill me?" What? Where's the fire, the fight, the anger and spite that made Pine Tree, Pine Tree. Something's wrong. Someone did something to Pine Tree; someone made Pine Tree hurt... That's my job!! Pine Tree is my human to kill! Mine and mine alone!!

"Jeez, kid, whose funeral is it?"

"Not funny, Bill. Weren't you supposed to be destroyed forever?"

"Oh please. Don't get too full of yourselves. As if I'd let two idiots beat me. I'm a being of pure energy with no weaknesses! Foolish humans. Pah!"

"So, you're here for revenge then?"

"Sharp one, aren't ya? Well, that was the plan, but I don't quite feel like it now. No point in beating someone who's already so defeated." A few well-placed taunts should revive his fire; Pine Tree is, at heart, a spiteful creature that loves arguing back, the little spitfire.

"So even you don't want to deal with me anymore..." Something's definitely wrong here. It makes me so angry! But I need to contain my anger, just for now. Can't go around spooking Pine Tree before I figure out what's going on.

"What the hell happened, Pine Tree? Why'd you become so boring?"

"Hey, I'm not boring! At least I have better things to do than watch other people all day."

"There we go, PT! I knew you were in there somewhere! But, seriously though, what's wrong? Hurting you is my job! No one else has the right!"

"... I miss Gravity Falls. People believed me there. They didn't treat me like a freak there. I belonged there."

Ah, I see. "Bullying, then. Pah, they don't know what they're missing. Do they hit you? Because then that becomes _my_ problem." Can't let weaklings think they can damage my things and get away with it.

Pine Tree just looks away awkwardly. Bingo!

"Well, it looks like you can use a friend right about now. Someone to look after you in your troubled times. Clearly, your family isn't helping you now, so why not me?"

"Why would _you _want to help _me_?"

"I don't want anyone else making _my _favorite meatbag miserable; that's my job. If it makes you feel better, we can make it an official deal."

"Another deal? No thanks. I've learnt my lesson the first time."

"Now, now PT, it's not like you have anything left to lose. Social life? What social life? Your relationship with your sister? It's not as if it's so strong right now or we wouldn't be talking right now. Your grades? Meaningless. Your parents? If they really cared about you, wouldn't they have noticed something was off? Hell, I noticed something was wrong within five seconds. Your life? Is it really worth living right now?

"I'll tell you what, I'll be your friend. You know what, I'll even sweeten the deal: I'll teach you magic too. And all you have to give me in return is a list of names; just tell me whoever is bullying you, who's making fun of you, and who's letting it happen. That's it; my special price, just for you."

"What's the catch? There's always a catch."

"No catch this time, Pine Tree. A straightforward, honest deal. Now then, PT, do you want to make a deal?" I extended my hand in trademark fashion. I know he'll take the deal; I just know it.

With a small amount of deliberation, Pine Tree put his hand in mine and shook.

"It's a deal, Bill, but..."

"But what?" Oh, how I **hate **it when there's a but...

"I don't know their names. I never bothered to learn them, and-"

"Well, I can't be mad about that; I'd do the same thing."

"And that list of yours essentially consists of the entire school. Everyone spreads rumors about me, pushes me around, insults me, or at least knows about it. Even the teachers."

"Well then, I guess that covers it for your side of the bargain. Not exactly a list of names, but it's good enough for me. You need a friend, so let's build one."

"Build one? Make a friend?" Oh poor, little Pine Tree, still so deluded by silly "common sense" and "conventional reasoning."

"Using magic, obviously. Don't be so _obtuse_, Pine Tree. Unlike most of these meatbags, you know that there are beings that exist outside of human reasoning. Just look at me." Never too early to start Pine Tree's magical education. Who knows? Maybe the kid will come in handy. Come to see things my way.

I think I'd like that. I'd like it a lot. A pretty, little obedient pet- a cute little kitten with adorable little claws. What a nice image.

"I'll give you the incantation, and I show you how to get all the necessary parts. We'll be done in a day. Now then, to the black market! I know a guy who made a deal and is late on payment. I'll just borrow your body for a little bit, and it'll be over quick."

"Wait! You're going to take over my body again!?"

"Relax, kid. I'm going to give it back; the whole reason we're doing this is so I get a body of my own for a while. Besides, you gave that sack of flesh to me in a previous deal, so I technically didn't even have to tell you in advance." Really, I didn't have to be so nice.

Pine Tree scowled- or at least, attempted to; it looked more like a petulant pout than anything. "Alright, fine. Just please don't injure me too badly, okay?" Ah, what's this? Compliance? A step in the right direction. Since Dipper is being so cooperative , I guess I can leave his body with only a few bumps and bruises.

"Good to hear it, Pine Tree."

I slipped into his body and boy! It like fits like a glove. It seems I'll have to be switching this deluxe body for a one-eyed one, but the new body will have a few advantages; one being I won't have any other contenders for it. Another being the natural superiority of a body made from magic; it requires less sleep, less food, and is slightly more durable than your average meatsack.

Now, most people would have difficulty finding a place that relies so heavily on anonymity and secrecy; I, however, am not most people. There are eyes everywhere, after all, even in places those idiots don't think about. And, from them, I see everything. Even certain locations.

I took a left after that Chinese restaurant that started up in 1952 as a front for a mahjong gambling ring. Then, I went down the alleyway between an office building with exactly four corpses hidden in the foundation because one of the contractors was secretly a serial killer and an old laundromat that has a no-questions asked policy and special detergent specific to natural stains.

I stop at the locked door in the middle of the alley, the one connected to the office building that leads into the basement where the real fun begins. Knock four times on the left door and wait a few minutes. And bingo! Here comes the dumb grunt.

"What's a punk like you wandering around these parts? Don't you kids know it's dangerous to hang out in places like this?"

It's funny how dumb some people can be.

"Actually, I'm here to talk to your boss. On behalf an old friend of his, a Mr. Cipher."

"I don't know about any Mr. Cipher."

"Of course you don't. You're just hired muscle; you're not paid to think. Just go tell your boss what I said. Like a good messenger boy."

Naturally, the stupid goon went away, but I'm sure he'll be back soon. And not with the orders he'd be expecting. Drew Harrison knows not to mess with me. And if he tries anything, he knows he's only making it worse for himself. Why risk your life when you can just do a few favors instead?

"... Boss says you can come in." Spitts out the disgrunted grunt.

"Why thank you."

The moronic grunt leads me down the stairs and the hall. We stop at the third door down the hall in front of a slightly larger office door.

"Go in."

Ah, yes, the pathetic bottom-feeder himself. Mr. Drew, chief organ broker in these parts, boss of a pathetic match of moronic lowlives. A man whose running on borrowed time.

"Now, boy, what message does Bill Cipher have for me?" Such arrogance for a 3-Dimensional meatbag.

"Bill Cipher would like to talk to you in person." I reverted to my true voice mid-sentence; I just love the looks of fear and horror on the faces of those stupid mortals.

"Bill? Wha-what do you want from me?"

"You know what I want: I want my due. But, you know what, I'm here to negotiate on the price. Instead of our previously discussed price, you can simply provide me with a full human digestive tract, a pair of human lungs, 8 pints of blood, the heart of a teenaged boy, and an empty room. And I need it all today, or else no deal. What do you say, Drew? Is it a deal?"

The fool definitely would take it; he hasn't killed his wife within the last thirteen years as per our arrangement. He'd certainly take the easier deal.

As expected, that weak-willed fool looked so excited. "Yes, yes! Oh, thank God yes! You can use the room across the hall; it should be empty from yesterday's shipment. I'll have my men carry the all the stuff there. I have to make a few calls, but it'll all be there within the hour. Thank you so much for your mercy!"

"Glad to hear it. I'm on a schedule here."

Now, I leave the fool who failed for thirteen years to put his money where his mouth is; the guy said he would do anything for power, and when I told him he could have power if he killed his wife, the man didn't do it. Wimp. At least the room he promised was usable enough.

"You can come back now Pine Tree. It's time for some magic." There. Returning his body should build some trust.

"You didn't injure me?"

"Now, now Pine Tree. You asked me to keep your meatsack in good condition. Don't be so surprised I did. And now, you need to draw a magic circle for the spell."

"A spell? I get to do a spell!?"

"But of course. I said I would teach you magic, and I will. When they get back with the blood, use it to draw a circle. Then draw another circle inside it. In the larger circle, draw the alchemist symbols for the four elements: wind, water, fire, and earth. Draw them where you would put the directions on a compass. Make sure you place the opposite elements across from each other. You remember those symbols from the time you found out about Quentin Trembly, right?

"Draw a triangle inside the smaller circle; that's where we'll place the organs when they get here. Then, all you need to do is chant 'starp manuh fo tuo ydob a em akem' three times."

"You really think I can do it?"

"Why, Pine Tree, I know so."

And when Dipper makes me a body, the real fun will begin.


	5. Avengers-Assemble

**_A/n: Welcome back one and all to part five. We're back to Mabel now because why not? Featuring even more OCs, but I promise they won't be too important. Reviews are always welcome and greatly appreciated. Sit back and I hope you enjoy._**

**_Disclaimer: If I owned Gravity Falls, there would definitely be a season 3._**

Operation Billwatch was a go. I just needed to find the right people for the job. Ally can be my reconnaissance agent since she knows how to get information through her immense gossip networks. Georgie can be the techie-nerd guy who knows all the weird, obscure things like Dipper...

Jackson would definitely be involved. The athletic one of the group. The romantic love interest that'll get with the main character after a job well done.

But first thing's first: Operation Billwatch. Objective: find out what is wrong with my brother's friend. Secondary objective: get rid of said friend if he's actually Triangle Bill.

How to get rid of Bill if it actually is _that_ Bill?

Well, I'll deal with it if it comes to that. Hopefully, it won't.

But just the thought of Bill riffling through my brother's mind and turning him against me is enough to make me want to punch him in the face. Even if he's not demon Bill, he still is pulling Dipper away from me; for Pete's sake, Bill insulted me to my face and Dipper didn't say anything. Imagine what lies about me he's telling Dipper behind my back. Makes my blood boil.

Ah, there's Georgie, right in the back of the classroom like he normally is. Time to recruit the tech guy.

"Hey, Georgie, want to help me stalk the new kid? It'll be fun."

"Yeah sure, why not? But tell me why you have it out for this guy. The man just got here."

"He's really weird; did you see what he did to Johnny during lunch yesterday? What normal guy his size can do that?"

"My sixth sense tells there's more to the story than just that. Spill the beans."

"Fine, fine. I don't like how close he is to my brother. I don't think he talks to anyone else, and it seems suspicious to me."

"Your brother? Wait, that weird guy who'd show up and try to talk to you way back when. The kid even more socially awkward than I am? That brother?"

I nodded.

"Well, isn't good he finally has a friend of his own? I don't really see why that's a bad thing."

"It's my job as the Alpha Twin to look out for him. I don't want some creep to take advantage of him. Don't tell me you're not going to help me now?"

"Nah, nah, I'll do it. Just wanted to know why is all. Who else are you going to get in on it? Can't be just me."

"I'm thinking Ally and Jackson. I'm assigning you internet duty. If he makes a post, if he has Chirper, Instachat, or Snapgram. I want to know all about his internet history, if he even has one..."

"Who on earth doesn't have an internet history in this day and age? But, alright. I got you. It'll take me a day or so, though."

"Great, thanks. I'm going to get more recruits."

The next class was science. Ugh. Leave all that nerdy, dorky science stuff for Dipper, thanks. How could Dipper get through all this physics stuff and not burst into tears, never mind actually enjoy it. Then came gym, the only good class. I saw Dipper walking around the track with Bill. No surprise there. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they were attached to the hip. It's almost like how close Dipper and I were...

After last period, I rushed to see Ally before first trip left; she was on bus 15, so she left before me. Ally hangs out by her locker before she leaves. Locker 674.

"Hey Ally, I'm going to ask you to do something I think you'd like."

"What is it? Make it quick. I have to go soon, or I'll miss my bus."

"Would you mind asking around about Bill?"

"You think I haven't been? But there's nothing. Nothing concrete, at any rate. Why you want to know?"

"I don't like how my brother is the only one he talks to."

"I hear you. Every time I try to strike up a conversation, he rudely blows me off only to go talk to your antisocial lookalike. Don't worry, I'm in with your plan, whatever it is. I'll start digging deeper with the teachers. I'll let you know if I find out anything. I hope I find some juicy gossip. I gotta go now, but I'll see you later."

Ally headed for the doors. Another agent for Operation Billwatch. Now for the third and final recruit.

Jackson was the perfect guy: smart, ripped, and handsome. He managed to get Bs even in Ms. Gunderson's class, and that woman hates everything that lives; nobody, and I mean nobody, has ever gotten an A in her awful computer class. The closest most people get is a B-. I wonder if she's actually a witch. I wonder if Dipper would know.

Dipper...

Jackson often played soccer after school with the some guys from his neighborhood. He's pretty good; the last time I saw him play soccer, he scored three goals. Maybe he's near the field. The one behind the school. Mom and Dad won't be too mad if I stayed just a few minutes later to talk to Jackson.

Wait a minute! Is that Dipper near the exit? Must investigate further.

Oh my God, it is him! He hasn't left on time since the first week. It's a miracle! Maybe Mom and Dad will stop grounding him now, and I can talk to him at home again.

And he's with Bill again. Are they walking home together? Where does Bill live? Does he live nearby? Does Bill even have a home? Now would be a great chance to follow them and see what's up. For Dipper's sake.

But, doing that would mean I couldn't talk to Jackson today...

I'll leave them be, for now. I gotta go find Jackson. But hey, if Dipper doesn't come home today, I know who to blame.

Now, Jackson should be around the corner... Ah, there he is! Talking to Ben and Greg. Great!

"Hey, Jackson. Mind if I talk to you for a little bit? In private."

"Alright. See you two next Monday! And Greg, good luck with Tina, you magnificent bastard!" Jackson's friends walked away, and we were alone. Perfect.

"What'ja need to talk about?"

"Have you heard of the new kid, Bill?" He nodded. "He's really suspicious. I mean, did you see what he did to Johnny? He-"

"Wait, Mabel. You can't seriously be suggesting he's some supernatural creature or some shit like that; I thought that was your brother's thing."

Shit. Shit. Shit. Think of something Mabel.

"Uh no, I meant that he could be on steroids or some other illegal drugs. Stuff like that."

"That would make sense, true."

Alright, he's interested. "And that's not the only thing he does that bothers me. You know my brother, right?" Another nod. "Well, according to Ally, Bill talks to my brother."

"I guess that's a bit strange, but that's not really suspicious."

"No, no, I mean he _only _talks to my brother. Nobody else."

"Hmm... You may have a point. So, what do you want to do about it?"

"I'm thinking we should see what's he's up to. Investigate, like real detectives. I've already got Ally and Georgie in on it."

"Okay, sounds good. The group will meet up tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. See you tomorrow then." Jackson walked off the way Ben and Greg went.

Recruitment mission success! Time to go home! Maybe Dipper will be back by then!

Ten minutes later, I reached our house. It wasn't as stylish or modern as Ally's house, but it was a good size. It was definitely better than that Mystery Shack I lived in over the summer.

"I'm home." My parents were sitting at the kitchen table. "Hi Mom, hi Dad!"

"Welcome back, sweetheart. Did you have a nice day?"

"Uh-huh. The English test we had today got postponed because the teacher caught the flu; we probably won't have it until next week, maybe more. Is Dipper back yet?"

Dad scowled. "No. He's probably at the library again. I swear, all that boy does is read study that strange occult stuff. All he does is stay inside with his nose in a book. He doesn't even talk to us anymore. Picking books over family; what kind of son did I raise? The other day I was trying to tell him to stop reading that weird novel and play outside with his friends, like a normal child, and he just plain ignored me. Back in my day-"

"Wait, what do you mean Dipper isn't home yet? I saw him leave school."

Did Dipper go off with Bill? Did Bill kidnap him or worse? Did something terrible happen?

"Relax, Mabel sweetie. Your brother probably went to a bookstore or another library, that's all. I'm sure he'll be back at the same time he normally is."

Maybe that's what Dipper would have done if he was alone. But he wasn't alone, now was he?

"No, no, you don't understand! He left with Bill!"

"Bill?"

"Dipper's new friend."

"Now, sweetie, it's a good thing Dipper finally made a friend. No need to worry."

"It's about time that boy socialized like the rest of society instead of sticking his head in a book 24/7," Dad chimed in.

"But Bill's creepy and weird and yesterday he punched a guy in the face so hard he hit the ground."

"And of course Dipper having a normal friend was too good to be true," Dad muttered.

"Now sweetie, you don't need to worry; it's probably nothing, just Dipper being Dipper. Just go upstairs and work on your homework, okay?"

What else could I do? I couldn't do anything to find Dipper now. I listened to Mom and hoped she was right.

Dipper normally came home around 3:30, yet he wasn't home. As the clock struck 4:00, he still wasn't home. He hadn't even come home by dinner time, so we ate without him. I was starting to get very, very worried; Dipper never stayed out this late before.

By 8:00, I was ready to call 9-1-1. Mom seemed worried too, by then, and even Dad seemed a little unnerved.

Finally, at 10:00, Dipper showed up. He seemed okay, thankfully. I was just glad he was safe.

"Where were you, young man!? Do you know what time it is!!??" Dad was definitely not happy. Even Mom looked a little put out.

"I was out with a friend, and we lost track of time. That's all," Dipper murmured, already heading for his room.

"Dipper, do you know how worried we were? How could you do that to us, never mind to your sister? How could you be so selfish!?"

Dipper stopped at that, turning around to look at Mom. His gaze was so unsettling. There was something... dark there, something evil and angry. It frightened me. It was like this wasn't my brother anymore.

And as quickly as it left, it was gone, and Dipper was back to normal. He went upstairs without another word.

What is happening to my brother?


	6. Of-Triangles-and-Truths

**_A/n: Welcome back. We're going back to Dipper's perspective today. Expect slower updates since school's starting back up again. Unfortunately. _**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls; if I did, Mabel would have some character development._**

Bill wasn't as bad as I thought he was.

True, he made some bad jokes and had a sadistic streak a mile wide, but he wasn't an absolutely terrible friend, even if that was only because of our deal.

I was surprised that he fully honored all aspects of our deal, too. I know, being a demon and all, he's obligated to do so, but he hasn't even tried to find a loophole yet or make this whole thing blow up in my face. I didn't really think he'd take this so seriously.

But the fact Bill is here raises a few questions.

For starters, how did Bill survive? When Grunkle Stan's mind was erased, Bill, who was inside his mind, should have went too. Maybe when the memories came back, Bill was able to come back the same way. I'm not familiar enough with the mindscape to completely rule that out as an impossibility.

But how could Bill escape detection? Why didn't Great Uncle Ford know about this? Shouldn't he have some sensor in place to watch for sudden bursts of magical energy?

Unless Great Uncle Ford didn't think Bill could come back and thus didn't take any precautions.

Great Uncle Ford made a mistake; I'm just glad it hasn't hurt anyone too badly yet.

Bill has been making good on his promise to teach me magic. Just yesterday, we spent nearly eight hours just practicing magic. We worked on incantations, magic arrays, and even elemental spells. I was able to summon fire in my palms and make it move the way I wanted to; it was so cool! And I was right about Latin being a good language for magic, too; it really came in handy, so all that studying was worth it.

The magic lesson was worth staying out so late, but my parents would beg to differ. Apparently staying out late on a school night wasn't acceptable to them, for whatever reason. I suppose the fault was mine for staying out too late, but it's not my fault that magic with Bill was far more interesting than staying at home stuck in my room because I'm "grounded."

I can't blame my parents for getting worried, though; it's normally dangerous for middle schoolers to walk around unsupervised at night, and I was out later than I ever was before. But I was going to be fine since I was with Bill, and any unsuspecting kidnapper who messes with Bill is sure going to regret it. They didn't know that though, so I forgive them for being so mad.

However, what my mom said was uncalled for. And extremely wrong. _I'm _the selfish twin? Says the person who wasn't there at Gravity Falls and didn't see what I had to give up for Mabel's happiness; she didn't see how I gave up my time with Wendy just to let her get that pig, or how I gave up my summer job as a lifeguard with Wendy just to help her mermaid boyfriend, or how I put myself in an uncomfortable situation and eventually mortal peril just because she didn't want to break up with Gideon in person. I had to sacrifice my time and energy to help her with her stupid sock puppet show just so she can woo some boy when I wanted to solve the mysteries of the author of the journals. I risk my life to save Mabel when she gets herself into bad situations, like with the gnomes, and Gideon, and the golf ball people. I risked my life trying to save Mabel, and everyone else in Gravity Falls, from Bill.

And yet _I'm _the selfish one? Me? Just because I wanted one good thing in my life, something that makes me happy the way Mabel's arts and crafts does. Something that makes me more than just "Mabel's brother" or "that weird nerd." Is that so wrong?

Whatever. It's not like it's really worth getting mad over. It's just a careless comment made by the uninformed. I'll try not to come home so late, and there won't be a repeat experience. That's all there is to it.

But still, is that really how my parents see me? As selfish?

Well... I could always find out what they think of me. I could ask Bill if, for today's lesson, he could take me into their minds. I can find out that way, and I don't think Bill would object to letting me rummage as mess with somebody's mind.

"Well, aren't you lost in thought Pine Tree? You didn't even notice when the last bell rang. Thinking about yesterday's tiff with your mom? Really, you humans and your easily hurt feelings and strange societal constructs. Time is just an illusion created by human minds to quantify the world around them. You think any other species is so obsessed with the idea of time? Nope."

Might as well get straight to the point. "Bill, do you think you can take me into my parents' minds?"

"Ooh. So willing to destroy someone's sanity when they offend you? We have far more in common than I thought."

"No, I don't mean it like that; I just want to know what they really think of me. This is the best way to get an honest answer."

"Alright, it might not be as great as tormenting them, but it is a step in the right direction. We'll do it once they fall asleep. Take me to your place; it'll be easier if this body is inside, so it doesn't get killed or anything once I'm guiding you into the mindscape and thus no longer in there."

"I don't think my parents will let you stay; I'm supposed to be grounded."

"Don't worry about it, Pine Tree. I can be very convincing."

Bill wasn't wrong. When we got to my house, my parents surprisingly didn't get super mad and throw him out. Bill made up some sob story about how his mom had a stroke and that I stayed with him in the hospital until his mom was in a stable condition. I can't believe my parents actually bought it.

I don't think Bill even has parents in this form, which begs the question of how he was even allowed to register for school and get accepted so fast. Blackmail, maybe, or some other form of coercion. Possibly some threats of personal harm were involved.

So, once my parents were completely absorbed in the idea of poor Bill and his ill mother, he asked if he could stay the night since, in his story, his father died of cancer years ago and he had no one else to look after him with his mom in the hospital for observation. They ate that up, too, and now Bill was welcome to live at my house for the next few days. As soon as his "mother" got better.

He taught me some magic in my room until my parents went to sleep; it wasn't anything that required a large amount of power, since we were going to the mindscape later, but it was still immensely fun and helpful. It passed the time.

"Okay Pine Tree, you've been in the mindscape before, so you know how it works. I'll be with you the whole time, so I'll tell you if you're heading the wrong way. Maybe I'll show you how to mess around a bit with people's minds. It'll be fun."

That really wasn't the point, but I'm not going to turn down an opportunity to learn.

"We'll start with your dad. Okay, Pine Tree?"

I nodded.

The world faded to black and white. Tge rest of the world melted into nothingness, leaving only a twisted, warped version of our house.

"Now, Pine Tree, where do you suppose he keeps his memories of you?"

"At my room, I guess." My father was never creative and took things very literally.

"How lame."

We climbed up the stairs, or in Bill's case, floated up the stairs. I almost forgot about Bill's true form; it's rather nostalgic, now that I think about it.

"Wow, just look at the difference between the doors alone. Ha ha! Guess who the favorite twin is?"

He wasn't wrong. Mabel's door was white, covered in rainbows and sparkles. Mine was grey and bleak with a label scratched into the door.

"Sure you want to go through with it? The truth can be a painful thing."

I nodded once more. I don't want to be ignorant any more; if my father doesn't like me, I'd rather know so than carry on wondering whether he did so or not the rest of my life.

Inside the door lie all the moments I spent with my family. Unlike in Grunkle Stan's mind, they were all in black and white like a 1950s movie.

_That boy is useless_, a voice said from the nowhere.

_What a failure of a son I raised. _

_Why couldn't he be more outgoing like his sister? _

_I never wanted a second child. We only planned on having the one. _

_Mabel is a much better child than Dipper. Much more normal without her head in the clouds. That boy is more trouble than he's worth._

_Why couldn't he have never been born?_

Not even my dad wanted me; no normal people wanted me around, unless it was to make fun of me or push me around, and even members of my family were no exception. Hell, the only friend I had was a demon I made a deal with who tried to murder my family and take over the world. Even then, Bill only sticks around because I made a deal with him.

I'm pathetic, aren't I? Maybe they're right about me...

"Now, now how superficial of him, don't know think? Then again, what more can you expect of your average meatsack? Don't worry, Pine Tree. I like you. I like all your little quirks. It's what makes you, you."

"You mean it?"

"But of course. I said it before: I like you, kid. Shall we move on to mommy dearest?"

The world blanked out before returning to the same monochrome home, only distorted in other places and in better condition. My sister and my doors were in the same locations, and were in similar conditions as in my father's mind. Mabel's door was far brighter and more beautiful than my own worn out and husk-like door. I breathed deeply. It was time to face the music, Dipper. Time to know the truth.

_I wish my son was turned out better than this. Where did we go wrong? He wasn't supposed to be like this. He should have been like his sister: happy, laidback, and cheerful like a normal child. Instead, he's a paranoid, gloomy mess obsessed with chasing fairytales. Why did he come out this way? Why couldn't he be normal?_

_How did our son grow so **selfish**?_

That word again. That phrase again. After seeing my father's mind, I didn't expect anything better from my mother, but still... It's one thing to say I'm introverted or... abnormal, even, but that's all true! But selfish!? When have I been selfish? Yeah, that one time I stayed out a little late just because I wanted to learn magic from Bill. But, no one got hurt. No one suffered because of it. No one was even mildly inconvenienced by it! Yet that makes _me _selfish!?

Why can't I be selfish once in awhile! Why can't I have this _one good thing _in my life!? Why do I have to sacrifice anything that even matters just to keep Mabel happy!? My time with Wendy, my job at the pool, my apprenticeship with Ford! And she never once thanked me!! Never! And when it all came down to it, when push came to shove, she replaced me! In that bubble, she made Dippy Fresh, a "more supportive" brother! As if I haven't supported her the best I could!! Even at the expense of _my own happiness!!_ And yet, she never thanked me; she never even acknowledged what I've done for her! And yet, when I want one little thing, _one little shred of happiness in this hell I call my life_, I get denied! Because I made my sister worry. What about all the times she made me worry!? What about the time with Norman or during Weirdmageddon? What about that time in the bunker where Wendy and I almost died just because she wanted to play matchmaker? What about what she did with Robbie and Tamry?

But no, _I'm _the selfish one. Because I made her worry. Why do I have to be the one to be sacrificed for the sake of Mabel's happiness? On that note, why is Mabel's happiness placed higher than my own!? I deserve to be happy too, don't I!? I'm just as good as her, aren't I?

"Well, well, well. Can't say I'm surprised. I can't see I agree either. I'm sure you got somethings to think about. A whole life to re-examine like all you humans seem to do when big epiphanies come about. But first, while we're here, are you sure you don't want to learn a thing or two? How to warp the mind to your will? How to make important memories fade like they weren't even there? How to bring forth a pleasant dream on a whim? Or, my _personal _favorite...

"How to create **nightmares?"**


	7. Sitzkrieg

**_A/n: And we're back. Good ol' Bill's returning for another chapter. On a completely unrelated note, my psych textbook has the lyrics to a My Chemical Romance song in it. Just a fun fact I thought I'd share. Reviews are greatly welcome, and I hope you all enjoy this little tale of mine._**

**_Warnings: graphic descriptions of violence, mentioned formal child abuse, implied pedophila, and Bill who's really nasty in this chapter. If any of this triggers you, I suggest you move along._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls; if I did, Ford would get more screen time. _**

It wasn't that difficult to get Pine Tree to see things my way.

The stressors were all there; all the dominoes were already set up in a convenient little line, just waiting to be sent tumbling to the ground. The unsupportive parents, the ungratefully unaware sister, and Pine Tree's own painful isolation... All the hallmarks of someone just waiting to be taken advantage of, like a bomb just waiting to explode. It was a good thing I came along before anyone else could. Just the thought of anyone else claiming my property... Well, a bloodbath would be the nicest way to describe what I'd do to whoever was responsible. Or whoever helped them. Or whoever got in my way.

A beautiful, crimson red coating the entire mortal realm... What a pleasant thought.

But, I digress. Yes, a chain of dominoes. And all it took was one, little push. I just altered to boy's mental state a tini, tiny bit; I made him just a bit more prone to anger, just temporarily like the effect of a drug or a particularly nasty argument. Not permanently to change his overall disposition; no, no, no, I want my new pet unharmed and undamaged. The anger will wear off in time, but the realization he made under its effects- that will last for a very long time.

The best part of it was: it was all the truth. I didn't alter what his parents thought of him, and I certainly didn't create past events. It was all the truth, and that made it infinitely more cruel. If I wasn't a demon, I'd probably feel sorry for the boy.

I meant what I said when I told Dipper he was my favorite meatsack. None of the others react the way he does, wants to learn the way he does. And when confronted with such a devastating truth, most fall into despair. Not him, though. No, he got mad. He was angry; Pine Tree keeps getting better and better. It was a good idea to keep him under my wing. He might turn out to be a fledgling demon in human flesh.

And it was adorable how passionate he was when learning some basic magic; not even Stanford was this excited about learning more. It was also impressive just how quick Pine Tree caught on, too. Really, he keeps getting better and better.

And that boy was a natural at weaving the most beautiful and violent of nightmares. Truly, it made my nonexistent heart beat in my chest. Or it could have been the cold, dead, borrowed heart from a foolish teenager that thought he was invincible and thought it was a good idea to drive drunk. Either way, Dipper had a knack for causing suffering. A true virtuoso, a maestro in the making. Those meatbags who fertilized twin fetuses, one gifted in both magic and cruelty the other in charisma and athletics, and have done nothing worthwhile since experienced a delightfully devious delve into their worst fears. With the mother, he let a dream version of their family get lost in the woods. They were all hunted by a shadowed monster that picked each member off one by one. First Dream Dipper, then her husband, and lastly Dream Mabel, who the mother had to watch as her daughter was eaten alive in front of her, shrilly screaming in desperation for mommy to help her the whole time. As for the father, he had to endure being force fed the flesh of his wife and children. Both were so wonderfully vicious, it made me smile.

As for my plans for revenge, I was already breaking apart the Pines family. The bonds between Dipper and his family grow weaker by the day; his bonds with his parents have all but withered away to nothingness. Without proximity to his uncles, those bonds shall fall away to nothing; by the time Sixer and Stanley realize what's wrong, it'll be far too late. And the boy will be irrevocably mine.

The only obstacle to isolating Dipper is his sister. But, at the rate things are going, that will no longer be an issue. The girl's past actions are working against her. Unless something drastic happens, that bond will rot away too. Leaving me as the only one Dipper has left for to lean on. A perfectly obedient pet.

Does that stupid girl really think I was unaware of her little plot to expose me to Dipper? I have eyes everywhere. I know all she planned to do, and I know that nothing she could do could ever hurt me or forcefully banish me from this vessel. I know who her accomplices are. If she were to expose me to Dipper, nothing would happen; he already knows who and what I am. The worse that could happen is if I start an argument with Shooting Star and lose Dipper's trust, but if I spin it the right way, it'll only boost Dipper's opinion of me while decreasing Dipper's fondness for his sister.

Dipper is practically mine, and when the day comes when he is truly under my thrall, I will see him destroy every single person who ever belittled or hurt him. And he will enjoy it in every fiber of his being. And that is when I will own him: body, mind, and soul. Perhaps I'll make him one of my kind, then. Yes, that sounds good. That sounds perfect. Marvelous. Wonderful, even!

Now then, even if the girl can't harm me, I can't have her go around and undermine me without any recompense. That would set a bad example for everyone else that messing with me is a okay, which is absolutely unacceptable. Can't have the idiots thinking rebellion is acceptable; that's just bad leadership.

Yes, an example will have to be made of Mabel and her motley crew. But how is the tricky part. If I retaliate violently, I scare away Dipper. However, if I react too subtly, Mabel won't realize what she did wrong and no lesson would be learned. I need to tread the line here.

Something that isn't violent but still gets the point across... Not really my forte, but I think I have an idea. Perhaps I'll mess with her dearest friends instead; Dipper has no connection to those people, so he wouldn't care if I got a little rough. Besides my flames, she knew of my influence with human minds.

Yes, yes, I think I'll drive them all slowly mad. I'll start with the small, nerdy blonde- the computer nerd. Now, let's take a peek- ah, lovely, the boy just fell asleep and the night is still young.

Now, what sort of nightmare shall we start off with? Perhaps the genenric but popular being buried alive trick? No, no, no, that's too easy to forget and brush off. Something more personal. Something with a bit more oomph. Hmmm... this nightmare needs to be scarring enough to last into the waking hours. Perhaps some inspiration from some memories will be in order.

Ah, yes, let's see here: abusive, alcoholic mom and subsequently divorced parents. Now, that's some good nightmare fodder. Yes, that'll do just nicely. A nightmare where mother dearest comes back knocking on dear ol' daddy's door, demanding her little boy back. Terrifying enough to be real. A nice scare realistic and cutting enough to last through the daylight hours; he might not take it seriously at first, but it'll be a nagging issue in the back of his mind that'll keep scratching just under the surface. It might take a few nights of bad dreams with a few pushes from reality: a few knocks on the door in the early morning when the sun is still down below the horizon, a hand-written note from mommy begging for forgiveness from her darling baby boy, the suspicious stench of an extra strong whisky around his home.

The paranoia will tear him apart, and the only person who would be trace it back to me would be Mabel. Well, maybe Dipper too, but Dipper isn't close with that boy and so he'd be none the wiser.

Next, I should start with that pesky girl, the one who claims to be in love with me. If she keeps sticking her nose into things that doesn't concern her, well, she might stumble onto something about how I got into this school. And that would prematurely spoil all the fun.

There are still a few more hours until daytime. While the nerdy blonde stews in his custom made nightmare hell, I can stand to play around with Lovergirl over here. Maybe something similar to the boy?

Damn, no traumatic childhood memories, no deep-seeded fears. Nothing, nada! What a disgustingly carefree and airheaded girl. Well, that simply means I need to step up my game. Perhaps, instead of driving her to the brink of insanity, I should give her something else to chew on. Maybe I should give her Dipper's science teacher, Scott Martin, to snoop on; he has such interesting dreams, the stuff of any parents' nightmares. Really, who on earth would let that man become a teacher? It was laughable, to me, at least.

I'll just plant a few dreams suggesting she riffle through the locked drawer when he's at lunch tomorrow. I'll see to it that the drawer is unlocked at the time. The pictures in that drawer will surely supply a wonderfully distracting scandal that will also stop that wretched, impudent man from eyeballing what belongs to me. After the man gets fired and possibly goes to jail, I think I'll drive him insane, maybe make him believe his fingers turned to worms and that his insides were rotting from the inside out. Maybe once he's insane, he'd kill himself- rip out his own eyes or devour his own hands into he bled to death.

Two birds, one powerful hammer.

The third member of Mabel's supporting cast can be dealt with later; he's the one she cares about most, so I'll have to take extra special care of him. Just to be fair after she helped bring about my demise, and unlike her brother, isn't worth keeping around to serve me.

Now, to plot my full return to this dimension. IQ's portal is still around; the fool was either too sentimental or too prideful to dismantle it. Or maybe that old fool really thought I was long gone. Either way, it's his loss and my gain. I'll have either Dipper or this vessel get the portal up and running again. As for Stanford's equation, I think I can get it out of him with Dipper's help; with the old man out an about with his brother, gallivanting across the world to fight the supernatural, someone needs to look over Gravity Falls, and who better than Ford's desired successor. Ford will give that information to Dipper willingly, or I'll simply have to resort to torture. Not electrical again; that didn't work, so maybe more of an emotional torture will suffice. Either way, that equation will be mine, and so will this dimension.

All the cogs were in motion. All the pieces were in their rightful locations. It was simply a matter of time before all the dominos fell into place.

All I had to do was wait.


	8. Duck-Tective

**_A/n: Back to Mabel's perspective today. _**

**_God, school has been kicking my ass recently. I hope you all enjoy, and please review._**

**_*Just as a little side note, the setting is based on my old middle school's system. I have no idea if any other middle school operates the same way. In our school, kids were assigned blocks, a group of four teachers who would teach the students all the main subjects: math, science, etc. Each teacher only taught one subject, and the students would move to each teacher's room to learn. The only time you could talk to kids from other blocks was during lunch, before/after school, or during an elective, which in my school, they assigned to you without regard to what you personally wanted/needed. _**

**_Disclaimer: Look, if I owned Gravity Falls, Pacifica's parents would get more than bankruptcy and a temporary face rearrangement for being such shit parents to her._**

Alright! It was a new day! And it was time for Operation Billwatch to officially start.

It was bad enough Bill had to stay over the night; that story about the cancer and the strokes rang a bit artificial to my ears. I couldn't sleep so well knowing that creep was in the next room over alone with my brother. So, I may have eavesdropped just a tiny little bit. Just a little and for a good reason, too.

I couldn't understand a single word they were saying; it was some weird gibberish language that practically screamed "suspicious." But then it stopped so suddenly I was worried that something happened. I tried opening the door, but it was locked. Dipper never locked his door. Not to me.

I went to see Mom and Dad to get him to open the door; if they yelled at him enough, he'd have to open the door. I opened their door to wake them up, and I started to shake them, but they didn't wake up. They started to toss and turn. Mom started to cry and Dad whimpered. I started to shake them harder, calling them louder and louder.

In the end, they didn't wake up until morning. Both Dipper and Bill seemed unharmed at breakfast, from what I saw of them. On the walk to school, neither of them talked to me.

Dipper never even told me "good morning."

He didn't greet Mom or Dad either, now that I think of it. I know Mom and Dad were mad at him, but he should have at least talked to them first, offer an olive branch after what he did.

Dipper never used to be like this. He used to be the responsible twin. Then Bill came along...

Bill has to go: triangle demon or not. He was corrupting my brother, warping him into someone I don't know anymore. If Mom and Dad weren't going to put a stop to it, it was up to me.

Now, we agreed over Snapgram this morning that we were going to meet up before homeroom. Ally said she felt like she needed to do something before school started, so she wouldn't be joining us. As long as it proved to be a good lead, I had no problems with it.

I sat across from Georgie as we waited for the final member; Georgie and I were in the same homeroom, but Jackson was in another block* entirely. I rarely ever got to see Jackson in the morning, so this'll be a treat. I look at the clock. 7:05. We have plenty of time.

I look at Georgie; something about him seemed different. He seemed a bit more jittery, like Dipper when he thought something was watching him. It could just be my imagination... But, he almost looked paler than he was yesterday, and I thought that would've been impossible with his vampire-ish skin. He had more visible bags under his eyes, the kind that came from not sleeping well instead of just going to bed late.

Something was definitely fishy here. Time to investigate!

"Something wrong, Georgie? You look more corpse-like than your normal 'undead abomination of the night' look."

"Please, you love my pasty ass. But, it's nothing really. Just had a bad dream, that's all."

Bad dreams... Just a coincidence or was it Bill? Bad dreams were not that uncommon, but the timing is awfully suspicious. Just as we started to investigate Bill, Georgie gets bad dreams. It could prove Bill was actually Demon Bill!

But it's not concrete; as Dipper would say, it's just circumstantial evidence. However, I think this is a sign that I'm on the right track. If I keep investigating, something is bound to show up.

Ah, there he is! Jackson, the perfect boyfriend material. He even brought a notepad to record all we say. He's so smart and well-prepared.

"Welp, I'm here. It's a shame Ally couldn't come, but I guess it couldn't be helped. Let's start the meeting." Jackson nodded to me. My time to present my case.

I looked around to make sure no one was listening in; the room was empty except for Jennifer McFee, the strange goth girl, but she had earbuds in, so she doesn't count.

"Let's start off with the basics: the target's name is Bill. No last name confirmed. He is a creepy weirdo who only hangs out with one person and one person only. He has shown unnatural strength and unnatural fearlessness. Georgie, did you find anything?"

"Yeah," he mumbled. "But it's all pretty weird. I'll admit: I wasn't fully convinced when you asked me to help you, but now I'm sold; this is just to strange to chalk up to coincidence and simple dislike."

"Spit it out, Georgie," Jackson said. Both of them sound so interested; it is nice to see someone else recognize just how weird Bill was for a change. It feels validating.

"Bill is registered at the school under the name 'William Madden,' son to John and Victoria Madden, but when I search for the parents on the web, all I get are individual Johns and Victorias; only a few of them were married to each other, and yes I did check for maiden names and whatnot, but none of the married couples had a son named William who goes to middle school and lives in this area.

"And if you think that's strange, get a load of this: the guy has no digital footprint. He has no social media accounts, and when I search his name, he doesn't pop up at all. I can't even find a photo of him besides the one on his school registration. It's like the guy didn't exist before he showed up here. Weird, right, but wait, there's more.

"The address on his file, you see it? Well, when I put that location into Boogle Maps, all that shows up is an office building at the edge of the district. Not only is it an office building, but it's been essentially abandoned after it foreclosed two years ago. Nobody lives there; I don't even think it's in living condition. As for the rest of the links that pop up in his file, they all lead to dead ends."

Georgie pauses and looks at Jackson and me. I'm not all that surprised, to be honest; if we were dealing with Demon Bill, it'd only be natural that he wouldn't have a past. Jackson looked pretty shocked though.

"So what you're saying is: William Madden doesn't exist?"

Georgie nodded. "He could be in witness protection?" Georgie explained weakly.

"You don't need witness protection for eighth graders," Jackson spat. I've never seen him so worked up before; he must feel as frustrated as I do, and probably confused too because he never dealt with Bill and his tricks before. It's okay though; I can be the one in charge.

"I don't think it's witness protection either." The only crimes Bill would have witnessed would be his own.

"Then what do you propose?" Jackson asked. Proposal... I wish he would propose something to me. "Something _supernatural_!?"

Well, I can't reall tell him I think Bill is actually a dream demon by the same name; he'd never believe me! Think, think, think...

Aha! "No, it's just that a witness wouldn't blow his cover by doing something suspicious like what Bill is doing. It's something else, maybe something related to drugs or organized crime? We won't find out until we search more, though."

A perfect argument to sound sane and reasonable. Well done, Mabel! Jackson can't shun you now!

But wait, this would mean the meeting was over now! Aw, but I wanted to hang out with Jackson some more. How could I make this meeting last longer?

Yes, the things that happened yesterday. Well, minus the creepy sleep thing. But, do I really want to expose my family's drama? All Dipper's exceptional current weirdness and issues to people he doesn't know? Eh, it'll be fine. Besides, Dipper will forgive me.

"Bill slept over last night. Said something about his dad being dead and his mom being sick or something, and my parents ate it all up."

I mentioned how the day before Dipper was in big trouble with Mom and Dad for staying out late with Bill. When Jackson asked for extra details, how could I resist? What harm could it do? And, anyway, Dipper was the one in the wrong for choosing to hang out with Bill instead of going home to be with his family and his sister.

As Jackson was going to open his luscious lips to spout some words of wisdom, Ally popped through the door.

"Guys, you cannot believe what I just found!" She came over to our little group and put some pictures upside down on the table. We huddled around them.

"I found these in our science teacher's desk. I honestly feel as though I'm going to throw up. I kinda figured he was a creep, but I didn't think he was... God... I'm kinda scared, Mabel. We gotta tell the police or the school board or something."

Jackson bit his lip. "But how, Ally? If we present these photos to the police, they won't believe us; for all they know, we could've took these to try to get him fired. And even if you did tell them, you'd get in trouble for snooping around his desk."

This wasn't exactly what I intended for this group to do, but hey, it gets me more time with Jackson. And we get rid of a criminal, like Duck-tective. I can't complain.

"How about you just put them on the floor and make it look like they just fell out? They're doing that teacher evaluation thing for your class today, right? They always start with the science teachers. If you go now, you won't get caught."

Nice idea, Georgie! Wish I thought of it. Then, Jackson would have to be impressed with me. Oh well, maybe next time.

Ally left at the speed of light, photos in hand. I consider that side quest solved. As leader, I should congratulate my team on a job well done after the guy gets caught. Boost morale, like Dipper talked about when he was playing his nerdy dice game.

But still, how did Ally think to check that pervert's desk anyways.

Eh, it probably wasn't important.


	9. Schadenfreude

**_A/n: Guess who's back, back again. It's been a while, but I'm finally getting back to this story. We're going to Bill's perspective this time because Bill's mindset is disturbingly the easiest for me to write, so sit back and brace yourselves for mildly cursed comments._**

**_Trigger warnings: mentioned pedophilia, mildly violent fantasies, Bill, and an insensitive and morally wrong joke_**

.

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls; if I did, Disney would never air it._**

Based on the commotion this morning, it seems lovergirl found the little surprise I left her. I doubt the school would be honest about the exact cause why one of their longest working teachers was suddenly fired when he was so close to achieving tenure, but the local news station would be thrilled at receiving a leaked story from a poor, traumatized student and would be able to access police arrest records to back it up. Parents will see Mr. Whatever-his-name-was's mugshot on the five o'clock news with the caption "child molester arrested" and they will be outraged and deeply afraid about their own spawn that they forget about others'. I'm giddy just thinking about the delicious nightmares in those parents' minds.

The best part was that Dipper didn't even notice the whole mess; he was paying too much attention to me and the valuable information about demonic manifestation and hexes to question why we were in the library instead of science class, just as it should be. It's good to see Dipper already learning he should prioritize me and my needs over all else, like a good little servant should.

Yes, Dipper was coming along very nicely. His bonds with his parents have been completely severed at this point; at this point, they're nothing more to him than mere dummies to practice mind manipulation on. I'm happy to note that his sympathy for his classmates and random strangers is pretty much null; the bullying and social isolation took care of that irksome little thing called empathy. What a worthless thing, empathy. Can't eat it, can't sell it, can't use it for world domination... It's just so useless only dumb humans would think it's a good thing to have. Glad I got the one human with more than two brain cells.

I was right about Pine Tree being a fledgling demon in human skin. So much potential lurking under the surface, unknown to all those idiotic mortals around him. IQ is going to feel like the world's greatest moron when he realizes his nephew had more raw ability and talent than him and he didn't notice it. Right before I kill him painfully after being smacked in the face with Dipper's betrayal, of course.

Once that boring abomination humans call school let out, I took Dipper to my humble ruined abode on the edge of town. He looked so excited to do something as basic as manipulate fire freely; he smiled so sweetly when he got to set heaps of trash on fire without a care in the world. I wondered if he would look the same when burning away a body; it was such a lovely image that I just have to make it reality. And when you're an all powerful dream demon, you'll find that reality is only a fragile tapestry you can alter at will at a whim.

Anyways, who'd've thought little Pine Tree was a budding sociopath and pyromaniac. We have more in common than I thought.

We headed back to Dipper's house after the sun had already set; exact time is only an illusion created by humans, so I don't bother with it. It's just another stupid way to organize the chaotic void that is existence. Those meat sacks whose final act of parental duty towards Dipper were conceiving and birthing him started to yell at my favorite human for coming home late again to satisfy some societal concept of "good parenting" despite the fact they couldn't be less deserving of the title. I spun some lies about helping my recovering mother, and those stupid, gullible fools ate it all up. Again.

Forget Bigfoot or the meaning of life. The real mystery was how subpar humans like those two could come together to give life to someone like Mabel or my Dipper.

"So, what are we doing tonight, Bill?"

Ah, speaking of my Dipper...

"Well, Pine Tree, I'm thinking we try a little of the more malicious forms of mind manipulation. I'm going to take you into your old science teacher's mind, and together we're going to drive him out of his. If you catch my drift."

"What did he ever do to you?"

"A little of this, a little of that; the specifics aren't really important other than the fact he managed to really piss me off. I'm sure you'll agree the minute you see his mind; he's the kind of guy that tends to grind some gears."

The muted blues and browns of Dipper's room faded away to the nostalgic monochrome of the mindscape. Mr. Pervert's mindscape took the form of the school, which makes sense considering how happy he must be surrounded be such vulnerable children. The classroom doors, I learned from my previous visit, led to his fantasies about students in those classes instead of his memories. I made sure to tear down the classroom door that featured my human with extreme prejudice.

I saw Dipper's face scrunch up in disgust as he decided to satisfy his curiosity by opening one of the doors.

"I see what you mean. Where do we start?"

Such eagerness! What teacher wouldn't love to have such an eager student? I know our dear old Mr. Martin would, in more ways than one. Not that the bastard will ever get the chance to. That old man never should have set his beady pig eyes on my property.

"Well now, this is a lot easier than subtle manipulation because you don't have to worry about control or nuances. No need to be delicate. Just go crazy with your power and destroy everything in sight."

Pure destruction was far easier than detailed alteration, after all. Just look how more difficult it is to forge documents than it is to burn them.

Dipper, the little devil he is, conjured up a giant sledgehammer and started to destroy the building. I don't think I've ever been prouder of another being in my extensively long life.

"That's the ticket, but how about something larger. More destructive. It's a dream, kid; no need to restrict yourself to common sense and logic. Go wild!"

Dipper got rid of the sledgehammer and went outside the building. I floated after him because I figured the kid had something big planned, and boy, I wasn't disappointed. I look up and I see meteors coming down from the sky onto the school building, the whole thing now just a pile of rubble and flames, and the kid says, "That more imaginative?" with a smug look on his face.

"Ya did good, Pine Tree. Very nice. Extra points for setting everything on fire. You're almost as good at this as me."

Dipper snickered. "The building's gone now." Dipper kicked a piece of rubble for demonstrate his point. "So, what now? What'll happen to Mr. Martin?"

Ah yes, that cockroach.

"Well, now we wait. When he wakes up, well... He'll be pretty delusional. Won't be able to tell fact from fiction if his life depended on it. He'll start having hallucinations, and he won't be able to react rationally. I'd say he has a week to live. Maybe up to a year if someone put him in a madhouse. But he certainly wouldn't be himself."

"I wasn't expecting a serious answer from you, Bill. More like a series of quips I feel guilty for finding funny half the time."

"Don't feel guilty about developing a good sense of humor, Pine Tree. I agreed to teach you magic and that includes side effects of our victims. Ooh, maybe I can arrange a field trip to the mental hospital if he lives long enough. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"You're a surprisingly good teacher. Thanks, Bill."

"No problem, PT. I know everything, after all. A lot more than your puny, mortal brain can handle."

"Yeah, yeah, you're a regular fountain of knowledge. Are we going to leave now?"

"Yep. Nothing left to do here. Nothing left at all, actually. Let's scedaddle while there's still nighttime left for you to get some shuteye."

As soon as we got back, Dipper's head hit the hay. My vessel doesn't need as much sleep, so I can take time to see how Mabel's friends are cooking.

The blonde boy is simmering in his fear. He's practically a paranoid mess at this point. Try going against me when you're too busy quivering in fear of a woman too busy getting drunk to even bother coming back for you.

The girl fell for my bait, but I suppose that won't keep her occupied long. I noticed Mabel didn't even ask about how her friend knew about the photos, so Shooting Star would even notice how these events are my doing. I need to amp up the volume here to give that girl something to worry about. Hmm... I think I'll plant a suggestion that will take her to the bad part of town, and I'll plant a suggestion in a nearby junkie's head that this girl has the drugs for that "ultimate high" he's been searching for. If all goes well, the girl will have to stop her snooping. If all goes great, she'll be dead.

I best get to work on that Jackson boy. Based on what he demonstrated during that sorry excuse of a meeting, he will probably be the biggest threat. Like the girl, he doesn't have any major traumas, but nobody will notice if I tweak his mind to be a tad more depressed than usual so he won't feel so motivated. Teenage hormones, you know? They cause all those mood swings, so nobody will suspect anything is wrong. And if my tweaking causes this boy to become more depressed normally, well, who'd know? Besides me, of course.

If those teenagers won't stop at my subtle attempts to get them to knock it off, then I'll just have to send a sign they can't ignore. Until then, I'll put them on the back burner. Quite literally, if they remain so obstinate.

Being a demon who's lived several millennia, I am a very patient creature; I have played the waiting game for eons. But, I can't help but get a little impatient waiting for my little pet project to come to fruition. The way Dipper acted in that man's mind... So remorseless and eager for more destruction... Why, it gets me quite excited. Excited to see how he'll develop into my pet hell raiser, that is. The process of turning Dipper into my little pet is going pleasingly well, a lot after than I expected. And then I will use him against his family, and we will laugh over the sound of his parents being burned alive. Then we'll deal with Stanly, then Mabel, then Stanford, and Weirdmageddon will come again, and I will rule supreme with the last Pines member by my side!

I can't wait for that day. In human terms, it'll be as though Christmas and my birthday came early. A tantalizing soul at the end of the tunnel. We'll wreck so much chaos, pile up corpses to the sky only to set them on fire like demented candles. I'll see to it that Dipper will have as much fun as me when we go into town to torment screaming children begging for their lives. We'll party like it's the end of the world because for everyone else, it is.

Dahmer, Manson, and Bundy better eat their hearts out. When I'm done, the only names the world'll remember are Bill Cipher and Dipper Pines.


End file.
